Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	abuse_n	abuse_v	according_a	13	3	4.1862	3	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61908	A gospel-glasse, representing the miscarriages of English professors, both in their personal and relative capacities ..., or, A call from heaven to sinners and saints by repentance and reformation to prepare to meet God.	Stuckley, Lewis, 1621 or 2-1687.	1667 (1667)	Wing S6088; ESTC R13173	281,871	514

There is no other way but by this Ark to escape drowning and the longer they wander in this Wilderness the more hard it will be at last to enter into Canaan the longer they keep off from the promise the more corrupt will their hearts grow and the more corrupt they grow the work of the heart-purifying-faith will be the more difficult 12. Eyeing Providences more than Promises How many of us eye Providences more than Promises and make the Providences rather than the Promises of God the Ground of their Faith One saith well The Star-light of one single Promise is of more use to Christians than a Constellation of many Providences both to assure them in their wayes and to support them under any difficulties 13. Do not we pretend to eye the Promises using indirect means for getting what is promised and yet use indirect means to bring our devices to pass We have pretended to live the Life of Faith but God knows what shifts men have had and wicked at least questionable courses men have taken how much evil hath been done that good may come Have not we to help Gods Promises to bring forth turned out of Gods way resisted Dignities offered Violence to known Laws wronged Conscience forgot all Obligations upon us Not looking that they attain their ends in our Souls 2 Pet. 1.4 1 Jo. 3.3 regarded nothing that stood in our way of compassing our designes 14. How little do we exmaine the Fruits of Gods Promises in our own Souls The exceeding great and precious Promises are given that we might be partakers of the Divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust that we might purifie our selves even as God is pure But do we look for these ends to be attained by the Promises in our Souls Do we look not only for a Change from Looseness to Civility but a through Sanctification in Body Mind and Spirit 2 Cor. 7.1 Alas which of us can say Having these Promises we do cleanse our selves from all filthiness of Flesh and Spirit and are perfecting holiness in the fear of God CHAP. XVII Their Abuse of Providence 10ly Professors Abuse of Providence ABuse of Providence is another branch of Ungodliness too much spreading among Professours God is to be honoured not only as the chiefest Good and as the supream Truth and Authority but as the first Cause that giveth Beeing to all things and therefore ordereth and disposeth of all things as he pleaseth having absolute Dominion over all events But O! how is God dishonoured by abusing his Providence The blind World are not only guilty who do not acknowledge God at the other end of Causes as swaying all things by his Wisdome and Power but set up an Idol called Chance but even Professours eminent Professours are herein very guilty 1. Evidenced in their non-observing it How seldome do we observe Gods Providence The Finger of God is in all the Creatures not only We but all Creatures live move and have their beeing from God and in God The whole course of Nature moves as it is turned by the hand of God and directed by his counsel It is not with the work of God as with the Artificers Clock which put into a frame and hang'd with weights will goe though the Artificer be off from it but though God set all the Creatures in frame yet the motion of every wheel depends on God There is not a drop of rain falls till God utter his voice Jer. 10.13 and cause the vapours to ascend from the ends of the earth Yet how is God not minded We see not his footsteps We may say in this He passeth this way and that and we see him not Our eyes are held to secondary Causes We look when the Wind or Moon will change but we are so short-sighted that we reach not God How seldome do we consider that though Gods Providence doth deliver up his choicest Friends into the hands of his and their Enemies yet doth it not deliver them up unto their will they cannot do what they please but only what pleaseth God Such of Gods own are still engraven on the palmes of his hands though turned over into the hands of the Ungodly they are Gods Favourites still though the wicked say Persecute them and take them for God hath forsaken them How little do we mind that our times are in Gods hands and that as Satan is in a Chain so are his Instruments We fear Men more than God O! when shall we hear that Word of God Say not a confederacy to all them to whom this people shall say a confederacy Isa 8.12 13 14. neither fear ye their fear nor be afraid Sanctifie the Lord of Hosts himself and let him be your fear and let him be your dread And he shall be for a Sanctuary c. 2. Not being affected therewith How little are we affected with the continual course of Providence though it guards and keeps us every moment The Stars in their courses would fight against us the Sea would swallow us up and break in as a devourer the Beasts of the Field would arm against us if God did not check them and bound them yea one man would eat up another were it not for the Lord who sets bounds to the rage of all the Creatures It is the eye of jealousie that is still wakeful for us it is the Lord that puts the hook into the nose and the bridle in the lips of the Senacheribs of the World and yet how little are our hearts affected how little are they comforted and born up how little do they cleave unto the Lord On the contrary But distrusting ●t How distrustful are we of Gods Providence in a time of seen dangers though we are wonderfully delivered from invisible ones every day Who can number the legions of Devils so many deliverances hast thou by Gods Providence every moment and yet how diffident and doubtful are we upon all new imminent outward dangers How little do we believe that God will bring in good to us by such Providences as are ungrateful to Sense to Flesh and Blood Though nothing is more usual than for God to take away some comforts and lay in better comforts to take away an Abel and make it up in Seth to deprive Noah of the comforts of the whole World for a while and then to wash it from its filthiness and to deliver him the possession of it with manifest proofs of his singular distinguishing care of him and his Family whilst all the rest of the Creatures perished in the waters to deprive Mary and Martha of their Brother Lazarus and to return him from the dead unto them with great advantage to deprive Job of his Children and Estate to make his last dayes better than his first Job 1.3 compared with Ch. 42.10 12. and to give him twice as much as he had before for seven thousand Sheep

not Child-hood and Youth the time wherein Solomon adviseth the Children of men should be trained up in the way wherein they should goe O Parents Prov. 22.6 If God be worth your own acquaintance is he not worth the acquaintance of such as are so near and dear unto you Can you without trembling think that as soon as Death breaks up your house you may to Heaven and your Children must to Hell and thither through your default But if you should dye in this neglect of instructing your Children you will be miserable as well as they And O! What a greeting will there be hereafter between ungodly Parents and Children What an hearing will it be to your tormented Souls to hear your Children cry out against you All this that we suffer was long of you you should have taught us better and did not What an addition will such out-cries be to your misery 4. Suffering Children to fall out with one another By not redressing the disorderly carriages of your Children towards one another How few Reboccah's are there She was carefull to remove jars and mischiefs that might arise between her two Sons 5. Not praying for ●hem By not praying for your Childrens Souls and against those very particulars which their natural constitution leads them mostly to 6. Not correcting aright By not correcting them aright as to time not early enough He that loveth him correcteth him betimes not whilst the fault is fresh in his thoughts with all the aggravating circumstances thereof Not with compassion enough You have reason saith Mr Dod to be angry with your selves rather than to be bitter to your Children for you correct your own sin in your Children If the Child be curst and froward hath he not seen his Parent brawling and contentious c not ushering correction with Prayer that God would bless word and rod. Commonly Parents correct in an high passion whereby Prayer is hindered and the Medicine becomes invalid 7. Being over-angry By being angry without a cause or above the desert Anger must be let out according to the nature of the offence If Parents be always chiding or correcting they make their Children resolute like Hagar and Ismaei to take up their heels and into the Wilderness will they any where to be delivered from such hard usages Provoke not your Children to wrath Eph. 6.4 Some Parents want natural affections are too severe Correction like Physick if too frequent will work no more with Children than our meat with us 8. By loving your Children more than God Loving inordinately loving them as they are yours not as they are Gods as they bare your Image not Gods for their beauty and parts rather than for their graces loving a beautifull Child that is voyd of grace more than a deformed Child though eminent in grace loving one excessively as Jacob Joseph hence Joseph is envyed by the rest prodigal favours to some especially if without reason are offensive to others who are less respected Loving so as loth to let them go when God calls for them you cannot say as Eli it is the Lord 1 Sam. 3.18 let him do as seems him good God pulls and you pull and you quarrel with God about the goard and you think you do well to be angry Job blessed God when God took all away at once by one blow 9. Not providing callings for them or not the best By not devoting them to some honest calling but letting them live in idleneness and so they grow up monuments of your neglect Some Gentlemen train up their Children to hold an Hawk to follow a Dog and commonly they dye in an Alehouse or shorten their lives thereby But if you do provide a calling for your Children is it not what is most gainfull rather than what will be most usefull to the good of the Soul Had you not rather have them rich Factours among Idolaters where they learn the manners of the Heathens then to have a meaner calling at home where the Gospel is preached in power and purity 10. Not matching them aright By not matching them to godly persons but rather to the rich Hereby ye shew that the silver shrines are in higher repute than grace and Godliness 11. Giving away all to them By giving all to your Children though the Church of God hath more need of it Hereby you evidence that you prefer not Zion before your chiefest joy that you love the outward grandeur of your Children more than the prosperity of the Church It is a wonder saith Mr. Baxter how so many seemingly holy can quiet their Consciences in such a sin as this is If one of you have two or three hundred pounds per annum it is a wonder if you leave an hundred pounds a year of it to pious or charitable uses Nay do not Parents leave all to their Children when they have apparent proofs that they will spend it in the service of Hell O! Let Parents tremble What wilt thou inable and strengthen thy Children to rebell against God put fuell to the fire put swords into their hands to sight against the most high Parents I beseech you look diligently to your duties be humbled for these and such like miscarriages O! look about you and you will see a sad Apostasy in Children Parents civil the Children debauched Parents godly the Children formall or loose Parents eminent for grace Children notorious for lewdness Let your bowels turn within you to see so great a degeneracy Double your diligence that there may be an holy seed Knock off the chains of Hell from your Children what you may lay not out all your time how they may be rich It is no time to seek great things for your selves seek them not Pitty the Souls of your Children that are slaves to the Devil How can ye mind your trades fields bodies whilst the Souls of your Children are in danger of perishing How can ye see the Devil driving your Children to Sin and Hell and ye stand still with a Gallio-Spirit Go to your Closets and ask your hearts whether the Soul be not the principal part of the Child and whether that needs not your care more than the body Do not throw away the Blade to preserve the Scabbard God hath set you to watch their Souls to train up their Souls to provide for their Souls if you do not what is your love more than a Pagans a Turks towards your Children You think you should be unnatural if you should not lay up for your Children though many Professours upon pretence that God will provide indulge to the flesh pamper their bodies and starve their Children but here is the best laying up to lay up a stock of Prayers for them and a stock of Counsell and Instruction in them O Parents Once more I beseech you put on bowels of pitty and compassion Pitty the perishing Souls of your own Children Command your Children to keep the way of